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Tuesday 4th. We have a couple of hundred miles to travel today and Sam our host advises a short detour to Blanding and the Edge of the Cedars State Park Museum and then a back road to Hovenweep National Monument. Both places will give us a great deal of information about the early people who inhabited this area.Once out of fairly busy Moab the road conditions are, as usual, pretty easy. With the cruise control on we meet little traffic and can enjoy the Mountains to our left with the swathes of yellow Aspens shining out from the usual evergreen. The only real danger is the real possibility of some deer running into the road. There are constant warnings and, indeed three run in front of us during a ten mile stretch of their migration route. The occasional corpse reminds us that a collision is a real possibility. I sense that Marilyn is sitting on her hands as she keeps her eyes peeled on ‘ lookout’.

As promised, the Museum is indeed enormously informative and beautifully laid out.

We are shown the rock drawings and their importance in storytelling and maintaining identity. These drawings, the early pottery and basket work, the weaving, their ability to use astronomy and develop calendars all indicate an advanced culture while we were still awaiting invasion by the Vikings. We were able to climb into an ancient Kiva. This is a meeting room, entered via the roof by a ladder. It was used for all sorts of things but my favourite was as a meeting place for the men to ‘chat’ and share stories while imbibing the local hooch while the lady in doors prepared communal food.

” Nothing’s changed there then”, snorts Marilyn

I have no idea what she is talking about.

After a picnic in the sun we are soon on the way to Hovenweep via isolated small communities on a scenic back road.
Hovenweep is the remains of several tower like buildings and village houses that line a small Canyon. They form several little hamlets that shared this spot and the spring that sustained them. They thrived , it seems for a short while and then deserted the settlement. The reason for their move can only be surmised – a change of climate leading to famine, an attack by another culture, sickness? Little is known. But the quality of the buildings reminded me of the work of the Aztecs in Machu Picchu.
There is evidence of habitation on this site between 8000 B.C until AD 200 , long before the Puebloan peoples who came about the 12th century and disappeared by the 14th. There is so much to find out about this area but we need to move onwards through grasslands where Marilyn gets to see her wild horses running semi wild. They are all branded and are all probably Navajo owned.

Navajo semi wild horse.

We arrive at our very comfortable farm Airbnb in time to settle before getting out for our first ( and probably last ) ‘ Serious Texas BBQ ‘ supper. This consists of mega portioned fast food either in a wrap or on bread. Marilyn had beef and her plate contained half a cow I swear. My pulled pork wrap was loaded with a ton of potatoes in cheese. Folk were eating these and then having the huge puddings while filling up twice or more their pint and a half glasses of Coca Cola. It is little surprise that the U.S is in the middle of a major obesity and diabetes epidemic. Many are literally eating themselves to death. We notice that the huge packets of sweets are all packaged and advertised as ‘Nil Fat’.

I have not been blogging for a while because I’ve simply been too busy growing up and that means growing my hair long as well. Most of the time I like having hair like this because my humans spend hours grooming me and I love that so much but I have started getting sharp sticks and thorns stuck in some rather painful places and that can ruin a good frolic as well as a young lady’s dignity. So tomorrow I am going to the groomers! ‘Barking and Butch’ of Truro will have the task of making me look presentable again. Not sure about that. Might have to give them the runaround. More to follow.

Meeting the relative……. Humans are full of strange sayings to go with the words they try to make us understand. I’ve heard Tim say ‘It’s a small world’ before now and i don’t know what he means because ,day by day, it seems bigger and bigger to me. Take this big beach at Pendower they take me to. I love it when I get there but I can’t stop being sick in the car so I don’t really enjoy getting in the car even though I know it means it will lead to some excitement later on. Marilyn has to really work hard to entice me in with super treats and lots of reassurance.

Anyway I was on this huge beach yesterday and the sun had come out and there were lots of dogs running around, many of whom were much bigger than me but friendly enough when they…

The Gardens of Heligan and Caerhays Beach….. I went to puppy training last night and that was so much fun but I will post about that another time.

Heligan reflections

Today we went to The Lost Gardens of Heligan and a beach by a big castle at Caerhays. It is almost too much for a small puppy to take in. We found the lost Gardens O.K so I guess they can’t be that lost.

They were almost deserted and full of new smells that made walking on the lead a little tricky because Marilyn didn’t seem to want to explore in the bushes. We did all this ‘walking on the lead’ at puppy class and I was quite good at it there but I forget today and had to be reminded that humans like to walk in a straight line and to stay on the path. Strange beings.

Then it is the beach just as the sun is starting to set. Again it is almost deserted and there are miles of sand to run up and down on and to dig in. Lots of lovely fishy smells too. And I am let off the lead so it’s great fun.

I’m sure I’m meant to like the water and getting wet but at the moment I prefer to jump over it as it is rather too cold.

We do a lot of running to and fro my humans today until I suddenly feel very tired and let them know it is time to go home for some naps.

My new friend Rosie….. So it is a New Year and the excitement of Xmas is nearly over. I’ve had my first walks with my human pack but this day is special. I get to meet a grown up dog called Rosie AND go for a walk with her.

First she comes to my house and to be fair I was not too sure at first and did my best to give a barky growl to tell my humans that I would protect them come what may – but really I am a bit scared and back off to the safety of the stairs behind Tim’s legs. I needn’t worry though as Rosie seems very calm and doesn’t seem to want to attack anyone or steal my food bowl or do anything really except sit quietly by her humans.After a while I think I can poke my nose out and give her a little sniff. I takes a minute or two but soon I think I should run into the garden and I secretly hope she will follow. She comes out when she is sent ( she is ssooooo obedient) and lets me sniff while she stands there.

Soon I am inviting her to run around the bushes and I am able to chase her. I think I am very fierce with my excited barking because after a while she runs back to her humans for a sit down. After a little while of playing around she takes my favourite spot on the second step of the stairs and I have to lie on the first step and try to get my nose as close to her as I can. I think she is great – especially as she seems to know exactly what her humans are talking about and what they want her to do.

I am going to try and copy her. She is a bit like my mum in a way and she used to show me things to do as well.

Trellisick gardens with the Carrick roads in the distance

Then the exciting bit when we go out in the car for a walk to some gardens and a beach and some woods. Unlike the cold, windy day of the first walk on a beach, today is quite sunny and warm and soon I am able to run free off the lead with my new friend. She seems to be able to go a long way from her humans very quickly and I am not happy to leave my humans in case they get lost so I let her go and look in all those dark bushes and only chase her tail when she comes closer.

My humans play a great game with me where they split up and one calls me and I run as fast as I can to them. When I sit I get a treat and then the other one calls me and I dash over to them. Rosie is very good at walking with her humans when they tell her to but she is a bit daft because she doesn’t get treats. To be honest my guys don’t always give me a treat although they tell me how clever I am and give me big strokes which is almost as good.

After a very long walk on the beach and in the woods I need a bit of a carry. Thankfully Tim doesn’t pick me up until Rosie has gone on her longer walk so she won’t know that I needed a carry. Then we all met up with the human puppy Abbie and her mum and dad at the pub. They had some stuff to eat but ,to be honest, I just needed a big sleep on Marilyn’s lap.

I was lucky. Poor Rosie was left in the car! I’ll have to tell her how comfortable this pub sofa is. If I behave myself perhaps they will want to take me again.

The best thing has been the ‘Walkies’ although I did have to put up a bit of a fight when they put that red coat on me. A puppy has got to have a bit of pride. My humans are too clever though and they know that if they offer me a treat for long enough I will give in and let them put it on. Not without a bit of a growl though.

At first I thought the lead thing was another toy to bite and chew but they showed me that it is really so that I am attached to my humans so that they don’t get lost when we are walking. They keep stopping when I run ahead and I have to go back to their side because they obviously can’t keep up with me. They are so grateful that they often give me a little treat and they say ‘walk close’. So I’ve got used to being near them and not pulling on the lead. It makes for an easy life.

I’ve been round the village a couple of times but yesterday and today I got to go out with a full pack, including a human puppy called Abbie. Yesterday was more fun than today because it wasn’t too cold and windy. I was let off the lead for a bit and I really enjoyed getting my nose down in the grass and following some lovely new scents. I almost got carried away but my humans must have been worried that they might get lost without me and called my name.

When I looked back to see them all standing still and not knowing where to go I had to scamper back and sit at Tim’s feet. Again he was so grateful he gave me a little treat. Now I know how useless they are without me I won’t let them out of my sight and I keep going back to check that they are alright.

It’s nice when we meet other humans who all seem to make a fuss of me. There are one or two dogs that I really like as well. They don’t seem to be able to leap up in the air and twist as well as I can though. They are all bigger than me so I show them a bit of respect by rolling on my back and letting them sniff me before I leap all over them and try to bite their ears.

Today was a bit of a different story because the pack went out to the beach. Well this meant a car journey and Tim drives too fast through the country lanes. Even when i cried a bit he didn’t slow down. They didn’t hear me being a bit sick either! And then the beach! Well it was blowing a gale and the sea ( which is enormous by the way ) was crashing in making a lot of noise. I put on a brave face on my long lead but I am quite close to the ground still and to be honest I was cold and a bit scared and starting shivering. I couldn’t help it – even when I tried to run with the pack. So I was pleased when Tim picked me up and put me under his coat.

I pretended to shiver lots then so he wouldn’t put me back down. But even the little human puppy Abbie was going a bit purple around her mouth and ears so we all headed back home where I fell asleep on one of my human sisters and dreamed of digging in the garden.

I didn’t tell you that I found Tim’s favourite reading glasses while digging in the garden He was so pleased with me he said something about ” Pickles having nothing on me”. I think Pickles was a famous dog who found a football trophy that was lost. My nose is really getting good at picking up different scents now and there’s nothing I love more than getting my nose to the floor and following a scent.

cockapoo

Today Tim and Marilyn have had me sitting to get a treat. They use this clicker thing and if I run up to them and sit down they give me a click and a treat. Only today I noticed I don’t always get a treat. I think they want to keep me guessing. Heard them […]

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